On the sixth day, God created Adam, the father and representative of the human race. God saw everything that He had made and declared that it was “very good.” As Ecclesiastes 7:29 says, “God made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions.”
Scripture records that God gave Adam a clear command: he was not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day he ate of it, he would surely die. Yet Adam, though created upright and without sin, disobeyed God’s command. As the federal head of the human race, Adam’s rebellion plunged all of humanity—including himself—into a state of death, sin, and depravity.
Every human being since Adam (except the Lord Jesus Christ) is born dead in trespasses and sins, separated from the life of God, and totally depraved. Humanity has no natural love for the God of Scripture. The carnal mind, Paul writes, “is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot” (Romans 8:7).
Mankind loves darkness and hates the light (John 3:19–20). The natural man “does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him,” nor is he able to understand them (1 Corinthians 2:14). Sinners, in their fallen condition, have neither the ability, power, nor desire to change their nature.
The Folly of Man-Centered Religion
Many religious preachers today proclaim a man-centered, self-righteous “law gospel.” They teach that your standing before a holy God depends on your will, your works, your obedience, and your religious performance. They misuse the Scriptures, twisting them to convince you that salvation hinges on what you do—what you must do to “give God permission” to save you and keep you.
But think about this: our father Adam, before the fall, in a state of righteousness and uprightness, failed to maintain his standing before God by his will, his works, and his obedience.
Now, if Adam—before sin entered the world—failed to stand, how can anyone born into sin expect to succeed? If a perfect man fell, how can fallen men rise by their own effort?
Do you truly believe that you, a sinner by nature and by choice, can gain and maintain a right standing before God by your will, works, or obedience? Adam could not do it before the fall—do you think you can do it after the fall?
The depth of human sin and the blindness of self-righteousness are far greater than most realize. They cannot be overcome apart from sovereign grace.
Two Kinds of Sinners
There are only two kinds of people in this world:
- Sinners lost in their sins, and
- Sinners saved by grace.
The first group puts their hope in their own will, works, obedience, and religious performance. In essence, they try to be their own co-savior, trusting in what they do rather than in what Christ has done.
The second group, according to the election of grace, trusts wholly in the finished work of Christ. They rest in His obedience, His righteousness, His cross, and His resurrection. Their faith looks away from self and fixes upon the Savior alone.
Salvation is of the Lord from beginning to end. As Matthew 1:21 declares, “He shall save His people from their sins.”
It is all of grace, apart from the cooperation, will, or merit of sinners.
Soli Deo Gloria — to God alone be the glory!
Greg Flannery is a Bible Teacher at Redeemer Church of Piketon, Ohio.
Discover more from Redeemer Church
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Redeemer Church 